Background: The association between expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and the long-term outcomes in treated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was studied.
Methods: Expression of COX-2, VEGF, and EGFR by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was assessed in 128 patients with NPC. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), locoregional control, and distant metastasis-free survival rates were compared for different expression levels of each marker. Multivariate analysis was by the Cox regression model.
Results: Median follow-up after radiation therapy ± chemotherapy was 116 months. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that COX-2, VEGF, EGFR, and clinical stage were all independent predictors for OS, DFS, locoregional control, and distant metastasis-free survival rates.
Conclusions: High expression of COX-2, VEGF, and EGFR were independent adverse prognostic factors for long-term outcomes in nonmetastatic NPC independent of clinical stage.
Keywords: cyclooxygenase 2; epidermal growth factor receptor; nasopharyngeal neoplasms; prognosis; vascular endothelial growth factor.
Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.